The Ghost Of Gary Past

Hart's holiday surprise stuns the Democrats

From the moment Gary Hart punctuated his withdrawal speech last May with a defiant "Hell, no!," the Democratic Party should have seen it coming. Why would Hart have donned sackcloth on national television in September and admitted marital infidelity, unless he felt a compelling political need to get the Monkey Business off his back? At 51, Hart is too ambitious, too driven and, yes, too arrogant to be satisfied with speaking to impressionable sophomores in half-empty auditoriums, just another penitent on the lecture circuit. With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary two months away, Hart was still pushing position...